WWE: Top 10 Rivalries of Vince McMahon's Career

Hey Bleachers. My name is PS Singh, and this article lists the top 10 feuds of the (former?) chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon.

As I trust you all know by now, McMahon has effectively been replaced (kayfabe) by his son-in-law Triple H as the chairman of WWE. So I thought, what better way for us to celebrate the incredible career of McMahon than by highlighting the greatest feuds of his career?

Over the years, McMahon has proven that he is more than capable on the mic, he can take some sick bumps and he's great at drawing heat. He also developed a great gimmick as "the evil boss" Mr. McMahon, which has carried him through most of these feuds.

With his signature strut, his classic lines, his cocky attitude and his infamous kiss-my-ass club, Mr. McMahon is a character we have loved to hate for the past 13 years. We've loved to see him get hurt, humiliated and outsmarted over the years, but despite all this, we were all saddened to see him leave (If he actually is leaving, that is).

One thing's for sure though, when you're up against McMahon, you've got no chance in hell.

10. Vince McMahon vs. CM Punk

We kick off this list with McMahon's most recent feud, which was with the now-WWE champion, CM Punk and also featured John Cena. This feud would probably be higher on this list, if not for the fact that it's only been going on for like three weeks. I don't know if it's quite finished just yet.

But for now, thanks to an epic shoot promo by Punk, a great segment between Punk, McMahon and Cena, and an iconic moment at MITB when Punk won the WWE championship before leaving the company (kayfabe) the feud between Punk and Mr. McMahon gets the No. 10 spot on this list. It caused the beginning of a new era in WWE.

Highlights: CM Punk's shoot promo on Raw on June 27th, CM Punk winning the WWE title at Money In The Bank and leaving the WWE with it. McMahon getting fired the night after by Triple H.

9. Vince McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley

The ninth-place spot on this list goes to Vince McMahon's feud with Bobby Lashley in 2007. The feud saw McMahon get shaved bald by Donald Trump, Steve Austin and Lashley and saw McMahon become the ECW World Champion.

Their feud started in a "Battle of The Billionaires" match between McMahon and Trump, where the loser would be forced to have his head shaved. McMahon's representative in the match, Umaga, lost to Trump's representative, Lashley. McMahon then had his head shaved by Lashley, Trump and Austin (the special guest referee for the match).

McMahon was enraged at Lashley for this and vowed to take revenge on him and make his life a living hell. McMahon made good on his promise (as he usually does) when he defeated Lashley for the ECW World title at Backlash, in a three-on-one handicap match where McMahon's partners were his son, Shane, and Umaga.

McMahon being ECW champion would anger many fans of the original ECW, as well as many ECW originals like Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, Sabu and The Sandman. Their feud would culminate two months later when Lashley beat McMahon for the title at ECW One Night Stand in a Street Fight.

Highlights: McMahon gets shaved bald at WrestleMania. McMahon beats Lashley to become the ECW World Champion.

8. Vince McMahon vs. Stephanie McMahon

The McMahon family is well-known for being one of the most dysfunctional families of all time in the WWE. Over the years, the McMahons have embarrassed, beaten and humiliated each other and feuded with each other. Their feuds have always been very personal and sometimes even uncomfortable to watch.

At least that's how I felt during some parts of the feud in 2003 between then-GM of SmackDown, Stephanie McMahon and her own father, Vince McMahon. The story was that, the previous year, Vince made his daughter the GM of SmackDown. However, Stephanie's actions as GM and her statement that she didn't want to be like her father would prompt Vince to ask her to resign in October 2003. Stephanie refused, so Vince tried to force her to quit by ordering attacks on her by guys like A-Train and Brock Lesnar.

When she still refused to quit, Vince set up the first-ever father/daughter "I Quit" match at No Mercy 2003. He would win the match (after Stephanie's manager and mother, Linda McMahon, threw a towel in the ring when Vince refused to stop choking Stephanie with a steel pipe) causing Stephanie to resign as GM and disappear from WWE TV for the next two years.

The reason this feud made it onto this list was because of how personal and emotional it got. It made fans hate Mr. McMahon even more than they already did. Scripted or not, watching a man choke his daughter with a lead pipe on live television is uncomfortable to watch.

7. Vince McMahon vs/ Shawn Michaels (and Later DX)

Although the feud between Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels started near the beginning of 2006, its origins date back all the way to Survivor Series of 1997: the night that McMahon, Michaels and referee Earl Hebner screwed Bret Hart out of the WWE title.

That night, better known as the Montreal Screwjob, would be the main focal point of their feud early on. McMahon told Michaels at the beginning of the feud, "I screwed Bret Hart, Shawn, don't make me screw you, too." McMahon would honor his words.

He got Michaels eliminated from the Royal Rumble and "screwed" him out of a match with Vince's son, Shane, at Saturday Night's Main Event in a parody of the Montreal Screwjob.

Michaels, however, would get his revenge at WrestleMania 22, when he defeated McMahon in a street fight. During the fight, he hit McMahon with an elbow drop off a 20-foot ladder through a table, while Shane was handcuffed and forced to watch. Their feud would continue after WrestleMania, though, and would lead to Michaels and Triple H reforming DX in June 2006.

6. Vince McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan

The feud between the two men who revolutionized professional wrestling and created the Golden Era of WWE takes the No. 6 spot on this list. This feud was actually quite good before the whole "Mr. America" fiasco after WrestleMania, of course.

What made it really interesting was that it was actually based on real-life tension between Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan, which spawned from the trial in 1994 where McMahon was accused of giving steroids to his employees.

The prosecution had made Hogan its star witness (sorry kids, but eating your vitamins and saying your prayers just isn't enough to get you those 20-inch pythons). While Hogan testified against McMahon, he did state that McMahon never actually sold anyone steroids.

McMahon would work this tension into the storyline, saying Hogan betrayed him, and that at WrestleMania 19, he would kill Hulkamania in a street fight where Hogan's career would be on the line. Hogan would win the match, however (despite interference from Hogan's old rival, Roddy Piper).

After WrestleMania the feud took a turn for the worse when McMahon banned Hogan from the ring, but Hogan would return in a mask and call himself Mr. America. McMahon vowed to find proof that Mr. America was indeed Hogan (good luck cracking that case, Vince) but he failed repeatedly until Hogan actually left the company. At that point, McMahon claimed he had discovered Mr. America's "secret identity" and fired him.

5. Vince McMahon vs. Triple H

We make our way into the top five now, where only the most iconic and impactful of McMahon's feuds lie.

So, we kick off our top five with the feud between McMahon and his now-son-in-law and chairman of the company (kayfabe), Triple H. Their feud started when McMahon made his return to WWF televison in late 1999, and won the WWE title from Triple H in a match—after Stone Cold Steve Austin interfered. McMahon would vacate the tile a week later, though, and Triple H regained it in a six-pack challenge at Unforgiven in 1999.

McMahon cost him Triple H the title at Survivor Series when he interfered in a match between Triple H and the Big Show. Triple H figured the best way to get back at McMahon was to marry his unwilling daughter, Stephanie. Their feud would then culminate at Armageddon 1999, in a street fight where Stephanie essentially cost her father the match and allied herself with her new husband. That started the McMahon-Helmsley era.

They would reignite their feud in 2002 when Triple H and Shawn Michaels reformed Degeneration X to feud with Vince and his son, Shane.

Highlights: McMahon beats Triple H for the WWF title with help from Stone Cold Steve Austin. Triple H tricks Stephanie McMahon into marrying him. Stephanie betrays her father in favor of Triple H. The McMahon/Helmsley Era is born.

4.Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon and Linda (and Later the Alliance)

Like I said before, the McMahons are one dysfunctional family, and the feud between Vince McMahon and his son Shane showcased the true height of their dysfunction. Arguably one of the most emotional feuds in WWE history, the feud between Vince and Shane McMahon takes the No. 4 spot on this list.

The story here was that Vince had been having an extramarital affair with WWE diva Trish Stratus. The stress caused by this would eventually cause Vince's wife and Shane's mother, Linda McMahon, to have a nervous breakdown and go into a comatose state. Shane would side with his mother during the feud, while his sister, Stephanie, would side with Vince.

Another angle during this feud was that rival promotion WCW had finally folded, and Vince opted to purchase the bankrupt entity. But his ego led him to not sign the paper until WrestleMania 17. Shane would take advantage of this delay and sign the paper before his father.

He would then face his father in one of the most emotional matches of all time. The match had its share of epic moments, the best of which was when a sedated Linda McMahon, who'd been brought to the ring by Stratus, stood up to a huge pop and kicked her husband in the balls. Vince would then get a beatdown from special guest referee, Mick Foley, before Shane hit him with the Coast-to-Coast for the win.

The feud would continue a few months later, in the form of the critically panned Invasion angle. Shane and his sister Stephanie (kayfabe owners of WCW and ECW respectively) would form an alliance with Paul Heyman to destroy WWF. The angle would end at Survivor Series 2001, when Team WWF defeated Team Alliance. Shane and Stephanie would be fired by Vince the following night on Raw.

Highlights: Linda standing up at Wrestlemania 17 and kicking Vince in the balls. Shane beating his father at Wrestlemania 17. The Invasion angle. Vince firing Shane and his sister Stephanie after the Alliance loses at Survivor Series.

3. Vince McMahon vs. Bret Hart

The feud between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon that spawned from the most infamous act in the history of professional wrestling, the Montreal Screwjob, gets the No. 3 spot on this list.

Now, while the feud itself wasn't that great (all it showed us was that Hart should never be allowed in the ring again, ever) it's the real-life drama between Hart and McMahon that gets it onto this list. McMahon screwing Hart out of the WWE title at Survivor Series 1997 actually directly resulted in the Mr. McMahon character. So technically, without this feud none of the other feuds on this list might have happened.

As we all know, after Survivor Series 1997, Hart hated the WWE for over 12 years before reconciling with them in 2010. He would return to WWE as the guest host of Raw on January 4th, 2010, and he would reconcile with Shawn Michaels early in the night. He tried to reconcile with McMahon as well near the end of the show, but McMahon instead kicked him in the balls and left the arena.

This would set the two up to have a match at WrestleMania 26, which Hart won by making McMahon tap out to a Sharpshooter. Say what you want about the match itself, but seeing McMahon tap out to Hart at WrestleMania was an image I'll never forget.

Highlights: The Montreal Screwjob, McMahon tapping out to Hart's sharpshooter at Wrestlemania 26.

2. Vince McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff (The Monday Night Wars)

If you don't think Vince McMahon's feud with Eric Bischoff should be No. 2 on this list, let me remind you, he and his company, WCW, came closer to destroying WWF than any other promotion in history. Also, the Monday Night Wars between WWF and WCW throughout the 90s were the reason for the birth of the Attitude Era.

Bischoff has even worked for McMahon as Raw GM—a relationship that would last from 2002 until December 2005, when Bischoff was fired and thrown into a garbage truck by McMahon. Bischoff would go on to work for TNA, where he has successfully turned the company into a replica of late-90s WCW.

The fact is, despite his past mistakes and despite whatever dislike many of you may have for him, Bischoff brought out the best in McMahon. As Bischoff once said, "Without Monday Nitro there would be no Monday Night Raw...Without the nWo there would be no DX...And without Eric Bischoff there would be no Vince McMahon."

Vince McMahon vs. Hornswoggle

1. Vince McMahon vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Seriously, who didn't see this one coming? The greatest feud in pro wrestling history, the feud that won the war with WCW and the feud that was the highlight of the Attitude Era, the feud between Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin is undoubtedly the greatest of all McMahon's rivalries.

It all started on September 22, 1997—the night Austin stunned his boss, McMahon, for the first time. This would mark the beginning of their legendary rivalry. Their feud would last for two years until late 1999 when Austin was forced to take a hiatus due to lingering injuries sustained in his match with Owen Hart. Hart botched a Tombstone piledriver in their match at SummerSlam 1997. (In storyline, Austin was run over by a car driven by Triple H.)

Austin and McMahon would temporarily form an alliance at WrestleMania 17, when McMahon helped Austin win the WWF title. Their alliance didn't last long, though, as Austin would join the WCW/ECW Alliance a few months later, thus restarting their feud. The feud would not fully end until Austin's departure from WWE in 2002.

Highlights: Stone Cold's first Stunner on McMahon. McMahon takes a beer bath. McMahon wins the Royal Rumble. Austin beats McMahon in a Steel Cage match that featured the WWF debut of the Big Show. Austin beats The Rock for the WWF title at WrestleMania 15. Austin allies himself with McMahon at WrestleMania 17.